Paul Hastings announced this week that private equity dealmaker Kfir Abutbul has joined the firm’s Houston office as a partner.
Previously at Willkie Farr, Abutbul says Paul Hastings offered him an “excellent” platform and opportunity for personal growth.
“I was drawn to Paul Hastings because of the firm’s solid reputation for its private equity and finance practices and its focus on growing these practices globally,” he says. “That, combined with the inroads the firm has made in the Houston energy market.”
In the past year, Abutbul has advised Brookfield Business Partners in its acquisition of Westinghouse Electric Company out of Chapter 11 for $4.6 billion and The Sterling Group, a Houston middle-market private equity firm, in connection with their sale of Safe Fleet to Oak Hill.
Abutbul says the Brooksfield Business Partners deal was particularly interesting.
“It involved an iconic American company in Westinghouse dealing with one of the most strategically important industries to many countries in nuclear power,” he says. “The deal was incredibly complex due to ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, dozens of required regulatory approvals and the financing and debt assumption required for the sale.”
The Safe Fleet sale highlighted the strength of Houston private equity professionals to acquire, grow and nurture and then eventually exit a successful and diverse manufacturing asset, Abutbul says.
In his practice, Abutbul has carved out expertise in transactions in the power and energy markets. He says private equity funds have an “incredible amount of resources available for deployment” in those sectors.
“Open-ended funds focusing on infrastructure will also drive increased growth as they search for quality assets and opportunities, many of which will be associated with the energy and power markets,” he adds.